Fianna Fáil's taxation pledges are carefully costed and are not "auction politics", Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin has said.
Her declaration came amid further Opposition criticism over the commitments to cut the standard and top rate of tax, cut PRSI, and index bands and credits in line with inflation. The package has been greeted with delight by Fianna Fáil backbenchers, who believe "it gives us something to take to the doors in the coming campaign".
Defending the package, Ms Hanafin said: "We do not engage in auction politics. We are presenting well-costed policies that are well thought through and build on past successes. They would not have been put forward unless they had been thought through and unless we felt that the economy could sustain them."
The decision to include the tax pledges in Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's ardfheis speech was taken after Tuesday night, but before Friday evening, The Irish Times has learned.
Last Tuesday Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan insisted Fianna Fáil would "certainly not be matching the unprecedented scale of the promises given by Fine Gael and Labour".
Colleagues accepted yesterday that Mr Brennan had been voicing party policy. "It was changed afterwards, so he has a right to feel a bit aggrieved about it," said one Fianna Fáil TD.
Several Ministers have privately confirmed that they were told on Friday evening that the commitments would be aired on Saturday night. It had been alleged in some quarters that the changes were not made until Saturday afternoon, once details of the Sunday Business Post's poll had begun to emerge.
Laois/Offaly TD Seán Fleming rejected criticism of the commitments: "If Enda Kenny had promises it would have been regarded, not as auction politics, but as a platform for government.
"We feel that the promises are credible. Everything we are offering is well within what we have delivered over the last 10 years. We have credibility because we have delivered," he said. Privately, many Fianna Fáil TDs believe the package has given them a boost.
However, Fine Gael is expected to launch strong attacks in coming weeks on the details of the package, particularly Fianna Fáil's assertion that it will cost just €840 million annually. Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton said Fianna Fáil had not kept to its promise to have just 20 per cent of taxpayers paying tax above the standard rate.
"Fianna Fáil, at the start of last week, said they would not be engaging in auction politics. While Opposition parties have offered targeted, measured and fully-costed proposals, Fianna Fáil has decided to cut loose and try to be all things to all men in a desperate, last-minute recognition of the precarious political situation they find themselves in."